


To a Better Home

by birdsongblue



Series: The Tot Years [1]
Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: Feels, Fluff, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Turtle Tots
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-20
Updated: 2015-11-20
Packaged: 2018-05-02 13:38:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5250155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/birdsongblue/pseuds/birdsongblue
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Raph storms out of the lair that day, it may have been for the best.</p><p>Seriously, a lot of feelings are here.</p>
            </blockquote>





	To a Better Home

**Author's Note:**

> This is just something that fell out of my head when I was brainstorming. I just don't know what to do with myself anymore.

Raph kicked at a dark puddle on the tunnel floor distractedly. The water flicked through the air, spattering droplets onto the walls. Raph frowned, stopping hesitantly. He had stormed angrily out of the lair, something that was very forbidden. 

Once again, Mikey had gotten into his things. This time however, the damage his baby brother had caused wasn't fixable. Mikey had found his box of crayons. They were Raph's prized possession, all 12 of the colored wax sticks in one piece. None of them had been broken, until today. 

When he saw the remains of what used to be his greatest treasure scattered on the floor, he had snapped. The next thing he was aware of was Mikey being cradled by their father, sobbing and clutching at his face.

That was when Raph ran out of their home, and into the cold, dark tunnels. He didn't want to face his family, and he didn't want to go back. So, Raph continued walking, staring at the ground. Only when a small line of light hit his foot did he look up. 

Raph shivered and stared at the gutter as he heard sounds drifting down. He walked closer, standing to the side of the hole so he wasn't seen. It was a woman's voice, he realized. She sounded annoyed. 

"Anthony, I told you to stop bringing home these animals. Last week it was a snake, and before that, a kitten!" Raph saw a pair of navy blue sneakers shuffle into his line of sight. 

"But, mom!" It was a child's voice now. "It's getting cold, and they can't survive on their own..." He heard a scoff from the woman, and the voice began getting fainter. 

"Well, you know that the landlord doesn't let us keep any animals in the apartment, so don't bring it inside. Besides, it's a turtle. It will hibernate in the winter and be fine." 

Silence fell over the area as the woman left, leaving the boy alone on the street. The shoes scraped against the asphalt as the boy sat down on the curb. Quiet sniffling drifted down into the tunnels, and Raph made up his mind. 

Raph closed his eyes tightly and shoved his fingers through the grate to poke at the boy's shoe. There was a sharp intake of breath and the sniffling stopped. Suddenly, the boy got on his hands and knees and peered into the grate. "H-hello?" Raph stayed in the shadow of the boy, his body blocking out the light. 

"Hey," he said, willing his voice not to waver. "I uh...I overheard you and your mom talking." Raph looked up, studying the boy's shadowed face. 

He had light green eyes, and his skin was a light, chocolate brown. His face was framed by a mess of tightly wound dark blond curls and he looked about seven years old. 

"Who are you?" The boy said, frowning in confusion. Raph swallowed hard. "I'm...I guess I'm someone who can take care of the turtle you have. I mean, if that would be okay with you." 

Anthony's face lit up and he smiled softly. "You mean it? He's really small..." The boy fumbled, taking his gloves off and reaching into his pocket. He carefully pulled out a small object and passed it through the grate and into Raph's hands. 

Raph grinned as he ran his thumb over the curved shell of the small creature. A tiny head peeked out at him and nudged his hand. When he looked back to the grate to thank the boy, he was sitting cross legged above him. "Why are you down there?" he asked bluntly. 

Raph hesitated for a minute before answering. "Well, down here I don't have any...landlords to boss me around." The blond kid nodded his head thoughtfully. "That sounds nice. I bet you don't have to worry about rent either." 

"Nope," Raph agreed. After a few moments of neither of them talking, Raph turned to leave. "Thanks for taking care of the turtle!" the boy called after him. 

"No problem, thank you for letting me have him!" He retreated back down the tunnel, out of sight and out of earshot. Raph looked back at the small creature in his palm and sat down. 

"Hey little guy..." He clicked his tongue gently and rubbed circles onto the shell. "I'm Raph. I'm going to take good care of you, I promise." When the turtle stayed in its shell, he realized that the small animal was probably getting cold. Raph cupped his hands around it delicately. "I need to get you somewhere warm." 

He ran back through the sewers until he recognized where he was. Raph peeked at his passenger quickly, feeling bad for not being able to warm the small turtle. His hands were cold, not producing the heat that the creature needed. 

He began running again, hurrying to get home. "You need a name," he huffed. "And it's going to be a name that I pick." 

The turtle bumped his beak against Raph's hands and he opened them a bit. It's head was poking out of the shell, tilted to the side as if listening intently. "Yeah, that's right. I need to name you before I get home, or Mikey will name you something stupid." 

Raph looked at the small turtle, pondering as he ran. "Spike. Your name is Spike." 

Finally he reached the lair. Raph barreled through Leo's questions and ran past him into the living room. He flipped the heat lamp on that was in the corner and sat under the warm light. He unfolded his hands and set Spike down on his knee. 

Leo caught up to him, still lecturing. "Raph, why on earth would you leave the lair? You know you aren't allowed to go by yourself..." His eyes fell on the small turtle on his little brother's knee and he trailed off. 

"Is that a turtle?" Raph nodded, staring his brother down as if daring him to object to Spike's presence. Leo sat down next to Raph and stared at the turtle in wonder. "Wow, we used to look like that..." Leo moved to touch Spike, but fell back when Raph turned on him, growling. 

"Woah, calm down Raph! I wasn't going to hurt him!" Leo clutched his hand to his chest, eyes wide as Raph merely turned back to the small turtle without a word. Raph's expression became calm again, and he grinned as Spike bumped his large finger with his beak. 

"His name is Spike," he said softly. Leo scooted closer. "You're keeping him?" 

Raph nodded fiercely. "Yeah, I'm going to keep him, even if Splinter says I can't. He needs me, it is going to be winter soon, and he couldn't make it on his own. Winter is even hard on us, and we are a lot bigger and stronger than him." 

Suddenly, Donatello walked into the room. He looked at his brothers, and then at the little turtle dozing off on Raph's knee. "Cool, a box turtle!" He came and sat down on Raph's other side looking at the shell closely. "Don't touch Spike, Donnie! Raph doesn't like that," Leo warned worriedly. 

Donnie flicked his eyes nervously up at Raph before resuming counting the rings on Spike's shell. "You named him Spike?" Raph nodded again, a thought forming in his head. "Donnie, Spike is probably hungry. What does he eat?" 

Donnie sat back up. "Well, he could probably eat lettuce, and worms for protein. He will need water first though. Where did you find him?" Raph swallowed quickly. "I found him underneath a gutter drain. He must have fallen in." 

Raph set Spike down on one of the cushions and stood up. "I'm going to go get Spike some water. Don't touch him." 

Raph went into the kitchen and stopped as he saw master Splinter and Mikey. They were making sandwiches, most likely fixing dinner. Raph flinched as Splinter looked up at him. Raph glanced at the small bruise on his little brother's cheekbone as Master Splinter lowered his head and began to speak. 

"I see you have returned Raphael." Raph swallowed nervously at the calm tone in his father's voice. "Y-yeah." He quickly pulled a small plastic dish out from a cupboard and filled it with water. Raph walked carefully out of the room, hoping Splinter wouldn't say anything. 

"What do you plan to do with that water?" He winced at Splinter's clipped tone and stopped, sending a small wave of water sloshing over the rim of the dish. "Uh...I'm...I was thirsty." Raph mentally punched himself, irritated that he hadn't been able to think of anything else to say.

"I see. Could you please use a glass, Raphael?" Raph turned back around to face his father. Mikey was now looking eagerly between the two to see how this played out. "Nah, I'm okay. Besides, at least this won't break." He hurried out of the room before the conversation could go any further. 

Raph went back to the heat lamp where Donnie and Leo were talking. "This turtle has about three rings in the pattern on it's shell," Donnie was saying. "The rings are a lot like the rings on a tree, one for every year. So it is probably three years old." 

Raph shouldered Donnie aside and set the dish of water next to the turtle. "Spike isn't an it, Donnie." 

Spike moved over to the water and started drinking. "Wow, he must have been thirsty!" Leo exclaimed. Donnie stood up. "I'm going to go back to my room. I think I have a book on box turtles somewhere..." 

His brothers muttered their acknowledgment, still watching Spike. As Donnie walked past the kitchen, Mikey and Splinter came out. 

"Raphael, I would like to speak to you." Raph stood up hesitantly, and Leo quickly moved to block Spike from Splinter's line of sight. "Yes, Sensei?" He said quietly. 

"I believe that Michelangelo has something to say to you." Raph looked at Mikey, surprised that the baby of the family was being brought into this. "I'm sorry for breaking your crayons Raph." 

Mikey looked hopefully at his big brother. "Yeah, okay." Raph said gruffly. "I'm sorry for hitting you and running away." 

Splinters whiskers twitched and he glanced past Raphael and over to Leonardo. "I see you have brought a stray into the lair." He commented mildly. Raph's heart jumped into his throat and he spoke quickly. "N-no! What are you talking about Dad? There isn't anything there..." 

Splinter walked over to the heat lamp and glanced over Leonardo's shoulder. "A cousin of yours, perhaps?" Raph felt his heartbeat quicken and he ran over to Splinter. "H-his name is Spike. I'm keeping him." He stood protectively between Spike and his father, puffing his chest out in determination. 

Splinter smiled slightly and nodded. "Very well. I see no harm in bringing another turtle into our home." He lowered himself onto one of the cushions and looked at the sleepy turtle. "Hello Spike. Welcome to your new home." 

Raph stared at his father in shock, relief flooding him. "I...I can keep him?" Splinter nodded. "But this does not mean that you aren't in trouble for leaving the lair." 

Raph groaned and hung his head. "What do you think would be a fitting punishment, Raphael?" Raph glanced back up at his father. "Uh...eighty push-ups and two extra hours of practice?" 

Splinter stroked his beard and stood. "I think that will suffice, but I am adding an extra meditation session as well." 

Raph bent down and picked up his new pet. "Okay Spike. You can watch me practice!" Splinter smiled at his son left eagerly with the turtle on his shoulder. 

Raph stopped by the kitchen on his way to the dojo and snapped a leaf of of their lettuce. When he got to the dojo, he set Spike down near the wall and put the leaf next to him. "Watch this Spike!" 

He grabbed his sais from his belt and spun them before going through an intricate kata. He spun and finished with one of his sais pointing towards Spike, and the other one pulled back by his head. 

Breathing lightly, he put the weapons back in his belt and crouched down next to Spike. The turtle looked up at Raph, and he could have sworn that Spike was smiling at him. 

"Was that cool? Take a bite of your leaf if you thought it was cool!" Spike lowered his head and bit into the lettuce immediately.

"I knew it..." Raph whispered.


End file.
